College marketing is at an interesting crossroads today. Students and colleges have become more concerned with saving money, while at the same time, more technologies for marketing and communication have developed. Often, this means that college marketing departments are able to work smarter and leaner, saving money while at the same time more effectively targeting and attracting the right students to the right campus. Other times, it means that they’re able to better pinpoint what works and what doesn’t, focusing their efforts on what really brings students to campus and keeps them there. Read on, and we’ll take a look at how social media, mobile interaction, and even good old campus visits are working in college marketing these days.
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Colleges are using YouTube to get the word out
TV commercial campaigns can be expensive, and with typically just 30 seconds per spot, there’s not a whole lot of time to be creative and engaging. Colleges still employ this marketing tool, but more and more, they are supplementing, or replacing, TV spots with YouTube videos, which offer much more flexibility. By creating their own YouTube channels, colleges can give potential students a view into what life on campus is like. In one particularly funny and engaging video, the president of Macalester College goes about his day on campus, feeding squirrels, shoveling snow, and even conducting a rehearsal for the campus a capella singing group. The video is more than five minutes long, and embraces the possibility that a longer, less direct video can be more valuable when it comes to attracting new students. Colleges love using YouTube in particular because it provides metrics for channels, allowing the admissions office to see how many times a video has been watched, and how many subscribers the channel has. Additionally, referring visits can be tracked through Google Analytics, which allows colleges to find out which marketing efforts are successfully driving potential students to their channel.
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Blogs are more effective than some might realize
Although campus marketing officers typically focus on Facebook and YouTube in their social media efforts, the good old blog has the potential to be the most valuable of all. Instead of relying on media outlets to relay their message clearly, colleges are speaking directly to potential students. Colorado College president Jill Tiefenthaler’s blog offers a unique view into the life and work of a college president, as she shares important studies, events, and her thoughts on issues in college. Additionally, blogs offer a home base for social media operations, a place where all other resources point to. For many colleges, once they post on their blog, Facebook and Twitter are automatically updated to drive visitors and potential students to the site. Like YouTube, most blogging platforms offer a way to track visitors and referrals, so unlike Twitter and Facebook, colleges can measure the success of their blogging efforts and find out what’s going well and what isn’t.
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Guest blogging works, too
In addition to writing their own blogs, college recruiters are writing for other blogs, including myUsearch.com, which invites guest posts from colleges on a regular basis. By writing for other sites, colleges are able to promote their own campus blog, as well as share their knowledge and present their school as an authority to students who may be looking for help. Additionally, guest posting may allow admissions officers to cast a wider net, appealing to students nationwide or even internationally, where their own blogs may just have regional appeal.
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QR codes are great for interaction
It’s rare to find a college student who doesn’t have a cell phone, and most own a smartphone that is enabled to read QR codes. Colleges are using QR codes to connect with college students, generating codes to place in newspaper ads, posters, and more that lead students to ways to interact with the college. Typically, they drive social media interaction, like Yelp sites, Twitter, Foursquare check ins, and Facebook likes, but some colleges also drive students to applications and admissions information on the spot. Highbury College Portsmouth is using QR codes on posters that drive potential students to find the college on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, encouraging them to enroll.
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Flickr is a real-time viewfinder for colleges
When students are searching for a college, pictures are worth a thousand words. Pretty much everyone can discuss faculty to student ratios and famous alumni, but photos of real life students enjoying their time on campus can really sway the opinion of potential students. With photos of events, campus, college life, and staff, colleges and universities have a unique opportunity to share a wealth of information about their campus and what life is really like for students who attend the school. The University of New Mexico has an active group on Flickr, with nearly 350 members and over 900 items available, highlighting events, campus activities, art projects, and work done by students. Like blogging, YouTube, and other marketing efforts, Flickr also offers monitoring and measurement, so schools can find out how well their referrals are working to drive students to Flickr.
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Web applications and research are on the rise
More students and families are using the Internet to find information about colleges these days. In fact, a worldwide college admissions marketing survey showed a 36% increase in Internet inquiries all the way back in 2002. As a result, colleges have stepped up their online marketing, making sure that their websites reflect the campus and educational opportunities that they really want to show off. Some schools have also begun to share the option to apply online, so that students don’t have to make the jump from online to paper in order to get a decision for school.
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Colleges are recruiting via Facebook
Facebook accounts are ubiquitous among the college-age set, and you’d be hard pressed to find a student that doesn’t spend at least a little time on the social networking site. So it’s no surprise that colleges are using Facebook for its recruiting possibilities. In fact, in a recent study by Kaplan, it was revealed that 80% of America’s top colleges use social media in their recruiting process, and often, that social media is Facebook. Additionally, 70% of colleges say that Facebook profiles of potential students are very important to the admissions process, with 21% indicating that they’re developing social media recruiting policies, and 13% of colleges with a policy already in place. The University of Kentucky in particular made news for encouraging students to check in on Facebook with two huge Facebook Places logos. Kelly Bozeman, University of Kentucky’s marketing director shares, "We’re encouraging students to check in, so when they do, it’ll show up in their news feed and maybe their friends still in high school will see it over and over again."
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Viral advertising videos spread like wildfire
College commercials are nothing new, but typically, they’ve been populated with stock shots of campus life, statistics, and nothing interesting at all. But in today’s new crop of college commercials, stunning graphics, endearing comedy, and even explosions are used to attract students to a particular college. Yale in particular stands out for a viral music video that explains the college experience on campus, featuring various stories of why individuals chose Yale, from students to professors.
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Sponsored campus visit opportunities really do work
More and more colleges are realizing that to get students in the door, you’ve got to get them on campus first. This is not a new idea, but it’s enjoying a renewed interest as more students decide to stay closer to home in order to save money on college, and are thus more able to actually visit several campuses in the area. Many colleges are offering the ability to request campus visits online, making it especially easy to get connected and see the school live and in person. According to Noel-Levitz, campus visit days for high school students are 98% effective, almost perfect.
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Open house events are great, too
In addition to specific days for high school students to visit, open houses are incredibly effective, with 96% of survey respondents replying that they were very or somewhat effective. It’s not surprising, as they offer another way to get prospective students physically on campus, often with their parents and friends who can help them make a final decision when it comes to college. Students are able to meet with faculty, staff, and students who represent various programs, departments, and organizations, and have the opportunity to find out everything they might want to know about the campus. Open houses are wildly popular: 98% of campuses use them for student recruitment.
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Using current students in college marketing
College admissions officers might be the ones pulling the strings when it comes to marketing and recruitment, but the people that prospective students really want to hear from are students that are actually at the school right now. They’re in the same age group, provide a realistic look at what the campus is like, and perhaps most important of all, offer prospective students someone to identify with and visualize themselves at that school. At Pace, they’ve set up a Facebook question and answer interaction board where potential students can discuss their questions and concerns with students who’ve been there before. According to the Inigral, using current students in your marketing is simply not optional.
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Picking up mentions
Schools these days realize that students are almost certainly going to be discussing colleges online, and there are many tools available that make it easy to not only find out what they’re saying, but also to join the conversation. More and more schools are setting up Google Alerts and Social mention to get notified when they’re discussed online, and are able to respond with positive affirmation or, in the case of misinformation, have the opportunity to correct misunderstandings.
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Joining forum discussions
College Confidential and Admissions 101 from the Washington Post are both great places where admissions marketers hang out and discuss issues and questions with students. College Confidential is particularly popular for its large group of followers, as well as the fact that they feature admissions professionals as resources.
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Scaled back materials
Colleges used to stuff the mailboxes of potential applicants, and in some cases, they still do. But as colleges are cutting back on their budgets, often printed materials are on the list of things to go. Of course, with all of the new, typically virtual, trends available to admissions officers, this is not surprising. The College Solution reports that schools are often opting instead to reach out through Zinch, Cappex, and College Week Live.
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Stronger commitments from applicants
As more and more students do their college research online, they are often making their decisions online as well, only asking for information from the schools that they are truly interested in. Typically, colleges would see a higher yield of inquiries, but lower numbers of students who actually apply. Now, as decisions are made using information available online, more students who fill out inquiry forms and apply will actually end up going to the school, resulting in higher yield rates from students who apply online and complete the process.
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No fee applications
Colleges and credit card marketing don’t often have a lot of things in common, but when it comes to getting applications on the table, some colleges have taken a lesson from the big card companies, offering no-fee applications to certain students. The College of Saint Rose in Albany has done this, and experienced an incredible increase in its applications: at least 25% annually over the last few years. Specifically, Saint Rose is sending out thousands of "Exclusive Scholar Applications," much like pre-approved credit card offers, which gave selected students a fast track to approval. They not only waived the application fee, they also allowed them to skip the essay, and promised a three-week decision. Saint Rose is just one of hundreds of campuses participating in a fast-track application offer, and students are eating it up, often sending in the applications just to see what will happen. The biggest impact is on the schools’ US News & World Report Rankings, which place a high emphasis on a sharp increase in applications, but Saint Rose has seen an uptick in admissions as well, increasing students from outside their immediate region, as well as a higher minority student population.
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Statistical predictive modeling
Sarah Coen of Noel-Levitz shares that often, schools are trying to do more with less in their admissions offices, experiencing greater expectations for enrollment, but fewer resources to meet them. Using predictive modeling, schools are able to find out the likelihood that students will actually enroll. With this information, the admissions office can better tailor their approach with more focused communications, strategic use of travel, and higher enrollment yields. Specifically, modeling allows counselors to identify a short list of students that deserve the most attention and build stronger relationships with those students. Additionally, schools can determine which high schools offer the highest yields, eliminating time spent recruiting students at high schools that do not result in higher numbers of enrollment. Noel-Levitz also reports that predictive modeling can result in higher student retention, making sure that the applicants that they’ve worked so hard for actually stay with the school.
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Developing mobile apps
With mobile apps and smart phone efforts, colleges can reach students wherever they are. Messiah College has a great mobile app, which allows students to contact the admissions office, find news, schedule campus visits, and find information about the school. Perhaps most impressive of all, Messiah College’s app actually allows students to apply to the college directly from their smart phones. It certainly seems like Messiah and other colleges who are using mobile apps are on to something: The Noel-Levitz 2011 Marketing and Student Recruitment Practices Report indicates that mobile apps are very effective: nearly two-thirds of respondents rated them "very effective" or "somewhat effective," and 63% believe the practice has merit.
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Text message marketing is highly effective
Although mobile apps are certainly impressive, colleges are seeing almost as much success with text messaging, with 60% effectiveness to mobile apps’ 63%. Jeff Arnold, a text message marketing expert, believes that text messages are an ideal way to market to college bound students who typically live on their cell phones and use more texts than voice minutes. Colleges are employing turnkey, managed packages that allow them to take advantage of text message marketing and mobile engagement without the overhead of developing their own app or communication program. Still, only 16% of colleges are doing it, but we expect to see this number increase as more colleges realize its effectiveness.
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Colleges are seriously upgrading housing
It’s no secret that colleges continually upgrade their facilities in hopes that, for example, a new state-of-the-art science lab will attract a wealth of new scientifically inclined students. But some schools aren’t stopping there, choosing to also give their dorms a facelift, or replace them altogether. Dorms that look more like condos, luxury units with hot tubs, HD TVs and club rooms, even dorms that allow pets are available to students, provided they choose the right campus, and college marketers are hoping that this choice will attract more students to their particular school.
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